Meta-Biol

• Pathways

The alpha-2,8-sialyltransferases 1-6 (ST8SIA1-6) are involved in the production of gangliosides, glycoproteins and glycolipids. They transfer N-acetylneuraminate (Neu5Ac) to terminal Neu5Ac-yl groups of these glycoconjugates (Nakayama et al. 1996, Scheidegger et al. 1995, Lee et al. 1998, Angata et al. 2001, Kim et al. 1997). Once sialylated, glycoconjugates translocate to the plasma membrane by an unknown mechanism. For simplicity, Neu5Ac-R is shown in a generic form where R represents other sugars O-linked to proteins which can result in a large variability in glycoconjugate structures.